I've long been very skeptical about the way the GDP
and CPI numbers are calculated. More reason to
believe it.

Excerpt:

Since 2004 I have written a number of articles
pointing out that offshoring is really labor
arbitrage and that if offshoring had the mutual
economic benefits associated with free trade, there
would be US employment growth in export and
import-competitive industries. Instead, employment
in these industries has declined in the US but
grown remarkably in Asia. In the 21st century the
US economy has been able to create net new jobs
only in nontradable domestic services, such as
waitresses and bartenders and health and social
services. Moreover, the growth in productivity and
GDP attributed to the US economy were inconsistent
with the stagnant real incomes of Americans.
Somehow productivity and GDP were growing strongly,
but it wasn’t showing up in the incomes of
Americans.

Business Week’s June 18 cover story by MIchael
Mandel explains the problem identified by Houseman.
Economist Matthew J. Slaughter, a proponent of
offshoring, says: “There are potentially big
implications. I worry about how pervasive this is.”
Business Week says the implications are big. The
cover story estimates that 40% of the gain in US
manufacturing output since 2003 is phantom GDP.